Swapped from marking studs by eye to using a magnetic finder last year

I used to just tap the wall and guess where the stud was, ended up with a few drywall patches to prove it. Ever since I picked up a Franklin Sensors detector for $40, I haven't missed a single stud on a trim job. Anyone else make that switch later than they should have?

3 comments

3 Comments

averymartin6d ago

Oh man, the drywall patches tell the story. I did the same thing for way too long, just knocking and hoping. The Franklin one changed everything for me too. I remember drilling into a live wire once before I got it, lucky I didn't get zapped. Now I just run that thing across the wall like I'm sweeping for treasure, feels way more solid than guessing.

val9496d ago

Point out though @henderson.oscar that a magnetic finder is different from the sensor you picked up. Magnets just grab screws, they won't help with plastic pipes or wires behind the drywall.

henderson.oscar6d ago

Same here, I was punching holes in walls for years before I wised up. It's funny how we'll keep doing something the hard way just because it's what we've always done, you know? I see it with everything from cooking (measuring by "feel" vs actually using a scale) to packing a car for a trip (just throwing stuff in vs actually measuring the trunk). Once you get a tool that takes the guesswork out, it's hard to go back. The magnetic finder just clicked for me because it's one less thing to second-guess.

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